Tuesday, September 18, 2007

shame

i've posted a few things on social justice in the last couple of weeks and i've talked about it with a few people as well. today, through a wide circle of reading i came upon this verse in Ezekiel while doing a topical verse on something completely different.
Ezekiel 3:18-21
"If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But ifyou warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and his righteous deeds that he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul."

there is so much in these verses that puts me to shame, makes me realize the weight i have on my shoulders of not telling people of their wickedness and God's righteousness. thanks be to God that I have forgiveness in Christ, otherwise surely the weight would pull me under.

the blood of them is on our hands if we do not warn them, and how can we warn them unless we speak the truth of the Gospel to them? let us continually put Christ on our lips so that they have the chance to repent and so that we glorify God by doing His work here on the earth.

-joe

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